BRRRR and Flip Calculator
Buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. See how much cash stays in the deal, what the rental pays after the refinance, what a flip would profit, and the highest offer that still works.
Deal assumptions
Your cash position over time
All purchase and rehab costs are counted at the start. The refinance pays back part of them, then rent adds to your cash.Money in and out
Until the refinanceRental after refinance
Year 1, monthlyIf the appraisal or the rehab surprises you
Cash left in the deal after the refinance. Outlined cell is your current case.What the numbers say
Where the sale price goes
Profit and risk
Profit if the sale price changes
Each point is your flip profit at a different final sale price.Profit if the sale price or rehab cost surprises you
Outlined cell is your current case.Highest offers that still work
Using your rehab, ARV, financing and costs. Change the targets in the assumptions panel.Offer ladder
What each purchase price does to your results.What the numbers say
Flip profit against holding the property
The flip is a one-time profit. Holding adds cash flow, loan paydown and appreciation each year.Total gain at each checkpoint
Gain means cash back plus equity after selling costs, minus the cash you put in. No taxes or reinvestment of flip profits.What the numbers say
Planning tool, not financial, tax or legal advice. It assumes hard money is fully drawn and paid interest-only for the whole period, all costs are paid at the start, and the refinance closes on time at your appraised value. Income tax, depreciation, capital gains and transfer taxes are not modelled. Real lender terms, appraisals and rehab costs will differ.
How to use the BRRRR and Flip Calculator
Put in a deal and see two answers at once: what you make if you fix it up and sell it, and what you keep if you rent it and refinance. It also tells you the most you can pay for the house.
What BRRRR means
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. You buy a run-down house, fix it up, rent it out, then refinance it at its new higher value. If the refinance pays back most or all of your cash, you keep the house and can use that money on the next one.
A flip is the other path: buy, fix, and sell for a one-time profit. This calculator runs both on the same numbers so you can see which one fits the deal.
Quick start
Fill in the purchase price, rehab budget and ARV at the top of the Deal assumptions panel.
Tick the hard money box if you will borrow for the purchase and rehab, and enter the loan terms.
Enter the monthly rent and the refinance terms your lender quoted.
BRRRR, Fix and flip, Max offer and Flip vs hold each answer a different question.
Your numbers are saved in your own browser, so they are still there when you come back. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The assumptions panel
Every tab uses these numbers. The starting values are examples, so replace them with your own deal.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | What you will pay for the house. |
| Rehab budget and contingency | The repair cost, plus a safety cushion as a percent. Rehabs almost always run over, so 10% to 20% is wise. |
| After-repair value (ARV) | What it will be worth when finished. |
| Buying costs | Fees to buy, as a percent of the price. |
| Months to rehab and refinance | How long until the work is done, it is rented and the refinance closes. Every month costs you interest and holding costs. |
| Hard money or bridge loan | Tick this if you borrow short term. Then set the loan on the purchase and on the rehab (as a percent), the interest rate (interest only), and the points and fees. Untick it if you pay cash. |
| Tax, insurance, utilities | What it costs to hold the house while you work on it. |
| Refinance loan-to-value, rate, term, costs | The long-term loan you get after renting it. A 75% loan-to-value means the bank lends 75% of the ARV. |
| Rent, vacancy, management, repairs reserve, HOA | The rental numbers. Management and repairs are percents of the rent. |
| Rent, cost and value growth | How fast you expect each to rise per year. Used for the long-term hold view. |
| Extra months to sell and selling costs | For the flip: how long it sits on the market, and the agent and closing costs when you sell. |
| Max offer rule, target profit, cash you will leave in | Your own rules for the Max offer tab. The 70% rule is the usual starting point. |
BRRRR tab
Can you get your money back and keep a rental?
The top row gives you the four numbers that matter for a BRRRR:
| Number | What it means | Good sign |
|---|---|---|
| Cash left in the deal | What you still have tied up after the refinance pays back part of your money. | As close to $0 as possible |
| Monthly cash flow | Rent left after the new mortgage and every cost. | Above zero |
| Cash-on-cash | Year 1 cash flow divided by the cash left in the deal. | 12% or more is strong |
| Equity after refinance | ARV minus the new loan. This is the wealth you created. | Large |
Money in and out adds up every cost until the refinance and shows how much cash comes back. Rental after refinance shows the monthly picture including the loan payment and a debt coverage ratio (DSCR), which many lenders want to see at 1.2 or higher. The chart shows your cash position over time.
The grid near the bottom asks “what if the appraisal or the rehab surprises you?” It shows the cash left in the deal for different ARVs and rehab costs, with your current case outlined.
Fix and flip
What will you make if you sell?
This tab assumes you sell instead of renting. It shows the profit after every cost including financing and selling, the return on the cash you put in, the annualized return, and the profit margin.
- Where the sale price goes splits the sale price into purchase, rehab, buying costs, holding, financing, selling costs and your profit.
- Break-even sale price is the lowest price you could sell for without losing money. The tool also shows how far the sale price can fall before you take a loss.
- 70% rule check compares your price with the classic flipper rule: never pay more than 70% of ARV minus the rehab.
- The line chart and the grid show your profit if the sale price or rehab cost changes.
Max offer
How much can you pay?
Work this out before you make an offer. It gives you the highest price that still works under three methods:
- The 70% rule: ARV times 70%, minus the rehab.
- Your flip profit target: the price that leaves you the profit you set, after all costs.
- Your BRRRR cash target: the price where the cash left in after the refinance equals the amount you chose. Set it to $0 for a full cash-back deal.
The offer ladder then shows what each price from 20% below to 10% above yours does to flip profit, flip return, BRRRR cash left and monthly cash flow. Use it to decide how far you can negotiate.
Flip vs hold
Sell now or keep it?
The flip is a one-time profit. Holding adds cash flow, loan paydown and price growth every year. This tab compares the two at 1, 3, 5 and 10 years. Hold gain means cash back plus equity after selling costs, minus the cash you put in, so the comparison is fair.
The chart shows the flip as a flat line and the hold gain climbing. The table tells you in plain words who leads at each checkpoint.
Worked example
A house bought for $150,000, fixed up and worth $260,000
The starting numbers are a $150,000 purchase, $40,000 rehab with a 10% contingency, a $260,000 ARV, hard money at 11%, $2,300 rent, and a refinance at 75% of ARV and 6.75%. The BRRRR tab says:
You put in $56,590, the refinance gave back $34,925, and you keep a rental that earns $215 a month. If you sold instead, the Fix and flip tab says:
The Max offer tab explains the warning. The 70% rule maximum is $138,000, a $30,000 flip profit needs a price of $144,707, and leaving $0 in a BRRRR needs $129,940. Offering around $130,000 instead of $150,000 would have you getting your money back from the refinance. And the Flip vs hold tab shows holding gains $86,259 by year 5, against the flip’s one-time $24,167.
That is the point of the tool: the same house can be a thin flip and a very good rental, and you find out before you buy.
This guide and the calculator are planning tools, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Real loans, appraisals, rehab costs, taxes and market prices will differ.